With multiple studies showing chronic hunger’s prolonged impact on mental health in both children and adults, regular access to eggs and other nutrient-rich foods can lessen the risk of depression and anxiety. (Courtesy Photo)

Keep the commodity cheese away from Fawn White, thanks.

“I hate commod cheese,” she said. “I despise it when I hear people say, ‘Oh, I love that cheese!’ Well buddy, you didn’t grow up on that cheese.”

With American Indian and Alaska Natives more likely to struggle with regular access to food, that cheese, distributed through an assistance program offered by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, is a regular sight in many Native houses, including White’s childhood home in rural north-central Oklahoma. It has also left a lasting imprint on thousands of palettes and psyches.